Robichaud Still On Top

The New Brunswick foursome led by Sylvie Robichaud of Curling Beausejour in Moncton survived a long opening weekend of curling with a perfect 5-0 record following a 10-2 victory over Nunavut’s Ed Sattelberger (0-4) of the Iqaluit CC. Robichaud opened with a deuce followed by steals of one in ends 2 and 3 and scores of three in ends 5 and 7. The only female skip in this Canadian Mixed faces a tough schedule Monday with games against Manitoba and Prince Edward Island both still in the hunt for top spot.

There were three other key match-ups in draw six.

In a battle of second and third place teams, Saskatchewan’s Jason Ackerman remained undefeated with a 7-6 victory over Mark Homan of Ontario. The Regina foursome stole a deuce in the 4th end and took two with the hammer in the 6th. One point ahead playing the last end, Ackerman did not have to throw his final stone as Homan hit and rolled out. Ackerman is now 4-0 while Homan drops to 3-2.

Kurt Balderston of Grande Prairie, Alberta stopped Quebec’s Martin Ferland 10-7 in an entertaining match. Balderston ups his record to 3-1 while Ferland drops to 3-2.

BC’s Doug Marshall pulled off the upset of the evening stealing three points in the 7th and singles in the 8th and 9th ends upsetting a pre-tournament favourite Brett Gallant of PEI 7-3. Gallant falls to 3-2 while Marshall evened his record at 2-2.

Finally, in a battle of the Territories, NWT’s Steve Moss (1-3) is in the win column by virtue of a 9-4 decision over Yukon’s Scott Hamilton (0-4).

Draws continue throughout the week at the Sudbury Curling Club with game times each day – Saturday, November 12 to Thursday, November 17 – at 10:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The final draw is Friday, November 18th at 9:00 a.m. followed by playoffs leading to the championship final Saturday, November 19th at 1:30 p.m. (all times Eastern).